The discussion revolves around the Folding@Home project, a distributed computing initiative that studies protein folding and related diseases. Participants share their experiences, technical questions, and concerns about installation and operation, as well as the implications of running the software on personal computers.
Participants generally agree on the utility and safety of Folding@Home, but there are multiple competing views regarding its impact on computer performance and the ability to manage CPU usage. The discussion remains unresolved on some technical aspects and personal experiences with the software.
Some participants express uncertainty about specific features of the software, such as the ability to limit CPU usage and the implications of running it on different operating systems. There are also mentions of varying experiences with performance impacts during gaming.
Individuals interested in distributed computing projects, those considering participation in Folding@Home, and users curious about the technical aspects of running such software on personal computers may find this discussion relevant.
it's a distributed computing project which studies protein folding, misfolding, aggregation, and related diseases. You donate CPU when your computer is idle.I've heard something about this relating to the SETI project, but really don't know how it works. Can someone explain in simple terms exactly what goes on? Is it a guaranteed safe site (I got fooled by the BBC fake)? Does it affect what I can do with my computer while it's running? (Like, will it interfere with my own programmes or PF sniping?) What happens when I go off-line or have to reboot? I'd like to participate if the answers are agreeable to me. Thanks.Monique said:
Thanks for the info.inha said:
A high fraction of the time, your computer's processor is idle. Hit ctl+alt+del and hit the performance tab and watch the graph. Typing this sentence, the usage on mine never went above 5%. Seti@home (the original distributed computing project) and Folding@home use that 95% that you aren't using.Danger said:
Yes.
No. Newer operating systems are capable of multitasking, load balancing, etc. Essentially, the SETI or Folding thread is assigned the lowest possible priority, so it will always get out of the way of whatever else you are doing. Out of curiosity, I've tested my computer - playing games, running benchmarks - and there is no difference in performance of the system.
The program is capable of being completely autonomous. It picks up where it left off when you reboot and downloads new data to analyze (and uploads the old data) automatically if you are always connected, or it warns you that it needs new data if you aren't always connected.
It's good to know that you can set the max allowed CPU that can be used. For instance, I have a laptop and it would overheat pretty fast if I run it on 100% CPU all day.russ_watters said:
Uh, that's not what I said - that was a practical example when 5% is already in use. I don't know if you can actually set it for a max utilization, but I tend to doubt it.Monique said:
Well, a computer probably uses another 20-50w of power with one of these programs running. For an individual, that's just a couple of bucks a month, but for a company or a university, that can be a lot of money in energy bills.
Ok, but I run folding@home and if I don't change the config it will use all the CPU that is available. There is a config window where you can instruct to only use a certain percentage of the processor available to it.russ_watters said:
Monique said:
Guess I'm hooped. All they say is 'please consider upgrading'. Like I can afford a new computer.Danger said:
monique said: